PORT STATE RESPONSIBILITIES

It was agreed that this question is not well documented in the Law
of the Sea Convention. Nevertheless, some delegates had divergent
views on the extent of port State jurisdiction in terms of high
seas fisheries. There was also disagreement on the customary
international law in this respect. Some delegates advocated an
extended jurisdiction for the port State, based on the coastal
State's special interests. Others argued that port State's
authority was the exception rather than the rule and is limited to
a number of specific cases, such as the protection of the marine
environment and the prevention of pollution. The amount of data
that a vessel needs to provide the port State upon calling in might
be dependent on its activity.

Port State jurisdiction might be exercised at the discretion of the
port State or at the request of the flag State. This is
particularly relevant in the case of open registries whose vessels
rarely stop in their national waters. Other nations expressed their
fear that this policing action on the part of the port State might
lead to discrimination. This concern led to proposals that
guidelines be established to limit the detention powers of the port
State. In addition, it was agreed that a degree of proportionality
had to be maintained between the suspected offense and the
enforcement measures the port State might take.